Inside HP's 'Green' North Sea Data Center

This seven-foot wide low-velocity fan is the entry point for the key ingredient in HP's innovative new data center in Wynyard, England: cool fresh air from the North Sea. The facility makes extensive use of free cooling - the use of outside air rather than refrigeration to keep servers cool.

Although many large data centers are now using free cooling, the HP Wynyard facility features an innovative airflow scheme that uses the entire lower floor of the facility as a cooling plenum. The Wynyard data center, which was begun by EDS prior to its acquisition by HP, is notable for its implementation of multiple energy efficiency measures.

“We hope that making the industry aware of what we have achieved at Wynyard will set a new standard for data centres around the world,” said Sally Poynter, HP Data Centre Services Lead.

Let's have a look at the details via visual tour of the Wynyard facility.